US President Extends Ceasefire Indefinitely After Initial Threats

"There will be no extension of the ceasefire with Iran. We don't have that much time"—this is what U.S. President Donald Trump had been maintaining on the final day of the existing truce. His comments sparked widespread fear: was war about to resume? However, the conflict did not restart. Just hours before the deadline, Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire.

Retracting the threats made earlier in the day, Trump issued a statement on Tuesday evening. In it, he said, "At Pakistan’s request, I have agreed to hold off on our strikes against Iran until their leaders and representatives can present a unified proposal." While the ceasefire was extended, Trump clarified that the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would remain in place.

It remains unclear whether Iran or Israel has agreed to this extension of the two-week-old truce, making Trump's announcement appear unilateral for now. There was no immediate reaction from Iran's top leadership. However, the Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, stated that Iran had made no request for a ceasefire extension and reiterated its intent to break the U.S. blockade by force.

Mahdi Mohammadi, an advisor to Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, suggested that Trump’s announcement holds little significance. He characterized it as a tactic, stating, "Trump’s announcement to extend the ceasefire is actually a strategy to buy time for a surprise attack."

Labeling the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as military aggression, he emphasized, "The time has come for Iran to take action."

This is not the first time Trump has backed down at the last moment; he previously withdrew a threat to bomb every power plant in Iran just before the deadline.